Cat Fight
by remolover
Summary: With the balance broken because of Buffy and the Scoobies, The PTB's decide to make them clean up the mess that they caused.


**Disclaimers: **I own none of these characters. If I did, do you think I would be writing about them? Hell No! I'd be snuggled up on the couch between Oz and Spike, thank you very much.

Set about 1 year after "Chosen"

**Prologue**

Buffy and Dawn are still in Rome, Xander is still in Africa, and Willow is in South America. They are all on their way to London, England where Giles is stabilizing the new Watchers Council. They are having a meeting regarding the progress of said Council.

When Buffy and Dawn arrive at the Council headquarters, Willow is in tears on Xander's shoulder. It seems that Kennedy had found someone else another slayer, who could keep up with her, in all ways.

When they all gathered together, Giles had the chance to really look at each of his former charges for the first time in a year.

He noticed that Xander's time in Africa had taken the edge off of his grief for Anya, but he could tell that he still missed her. Yet it seemed the time apart from "his girls", as he liked to call them, had actually done him some good. He seemed to have matured a great deal over the last year.

Willow seemed very upset regarding Kennedy, yet it somehow rang false to him. She started giggling when Xander told her a _very_ bad joke. Giles realized how much he had missed the sparkle in her eyes that could light up a room when she was happy.

But it was when he looked at Buffy and Dawn, laughing as they fought over the last jelly filled donut, that he noticed the greatest changes. The relief of her slayer responsibilities, even for a little while, seemed to have brought back Buffy's smiles, and Dawn looked truly happy for the first time since her mother had died. There was a glow to her that had been missing for too long.

Sitting at the table watching them, Giles become conscious of the fact that he never wanted to let them go. They were his heart, his soul……his family.

Giles cleared his throat. Four expectant faces turned toward him and he felt a surge of pride. That is until Buffy spoke.

"Is this going to take long? 'Cause ya know, Harrod's, Council funds. We're kinda short on time 'cause Dawn has to be back in school in a week." Dawn made a face at that last statement.

Giles sighed. It seemed some things most definitely did not change. "Yes, well. I don't think that shopping is an appropriate use of council funds…." He trailed off when he noticed the grins on everyone's faces.

Xander was openly snickering. "You should see your face G-man" he said between chuckles. "I guess spending the last year in the land of tweed, has managed to restore that stiff upper lip I thought we had finally gotten rid of."

The entire table dissolved into laughter. Giles grinned when he realized that they were teasing him. He didn't bother to correct Xander's use of the hated nickname.

"If everyone is quite finished," he stated sternly, though one was fooled. The grin at the edges of his lips gave him away. "We really should begin the meeting. Xander, why don't we begin with your report from Africa?"

"All mini-slayers rounded up and shipped off to Faith and Robin." Xander shot Giles a snappy salute with this statement. He then told them about the problems he had encountered while trying to find and convince them to go to The School. "But in the end every one of them chose to go to Cleveland."

Willow discussed the covens' success in being able to sense the mini-slayers. "No new ones have been called, but they can at least keep track of where the mini's are." She breathed out a tired sigh. "This gives me a bit of a reprieve."

Dawn, who had been strangely quiet in the meeting thus far, interrupted. "Do we know how many of the mini's were activated? Total I mean?"

Giles sighed. "At last count, we had 294 enrolled in the school in Cleveland. With the 73 from Africa that Xander sent over, that puts us at 367 so far."

Willow took over at this point. "The problem is not how many we have found or not found, but something else. The spell activated all _current _potentials. There have been no new slayers activated since that day."

Xander turned a puzzled face to Willow. "What are you trying to say Wills?"

"Remember how Giles used the coven in England to find potentials last year? Well, it seems that for about a month after the spell they could not sense any more. Then suddenly they felt one, and another one, and so on. Since I've taught them to recognize the mini-slayers, they say that there is a definite difference in the way that a potential feels as opposed to how a slayer feels. They are positive that what they are sensing are potentials."

Dawn spoke up, "But that makes no sense. We all know that several of the mini-slayers have been killed. I mean, if there were no potentials I could understand why there were no new slayers called, but you're telling us that there are potentials to be activated, but that they are not."

Giles removed his glasses and starting polishing them. "Damn. I was very much afraid of this happening." He replaced glasses, and looked at Willow, troubled "Are you completely sure of what you are saying?"

Willow opened her mouth to reply, but Xander cut her off. "OK you guys, you're gonna have to repeat all of that in Xander-speak, cause I'm completely lost."

Everyone was completely surprised when it was Buffy that answered and not Willow. "What they are trying to say is that there will be no new slayers called until the very last one dies. Only then will another be called."

"Why would The PTB's do that?" Xander said agitated. "What we are doing is making a difference in the good fight! We are totally putting the smack down on the forces of darkness."

"Balance" Buffy said quietly. She looked at Willow to confirm what she was about to say. "It's all about the balance isn't it?" She didn't wait for an answer, but turned back to the rest of the group. "By bringing me back, the balance was tilted to far towards the good, but by the First merging with Caleb _and_ trying to open the hellmouth the balance shifted to far in the other direction." Buffy laughed ironically. "That's why the spell worked in the first place. If the First had not overstepped Itself, the spell would have never worked. The PTB's are the guardians of the balance and will allow whatever necessary to preserve that. By not activating any new slayers until the last one dies, they are restoring the balance of the slayer line." She turned to look at Willow again. "Am I right?"

Willow shrugged uneasily. "I think so, yes. But it _is_ just a theory."

"It doesn't matter" Buffy said. "The School doesn't just teach slayers and watchers. The extra slayers are giving us an opportunity to build up the support teams. Ones made up of Watchers, Slayers, Witches, and Fighters; the New Council, our Council. It doesn't matter if The PTB's only want one slayer," Buffy looked around at all of her friends. Her family, she smiled. "At least she will never be alone."

Dawn reached over and smiling, clasped her hand. Willow and Xander beamed at her, thinking about the shiny, popular girl who had become their friend, while Giles stared at her thinking that she really had become an extraordinary young woman.

"Quite right Buffy, the New Council will make sure of that." Giles stated this with such intensity, that Buffy felt hope for what they were doing. She thought about every thing that had happened during the year of the First, and realized that while bonds had been strained, they had never truly broken. The Scoobies were coming together again, and they would be stronger then ever before.

"Speaking of The School, how are Faith and Robin?" Buffy asked. "Any problems with the hellmouth?"

Several hours later, after everything had been discussed, hashed out, and some new plans made, everybody was ready to leave.


End file.
